Dead Girl Walking
by AnglcDmn1986
Summary: Set in season 6 of Buffy, and season 3 of Angel.Basics: Buffy, Angel, and a pissed off woman from Angel's past. R&R?
1. Prologue

******Author's Note: **Hey everyone! 

**Um... so... there's a reason I haven't updated any of my other stories, and I know it's CRAZY that I started another arc, but I'm really excited about this one. I've graduated college and now have my creative writing degree (with my anthropology degree! WHOO! Yay to having TWO bachelor of arts degrees). I'm working for a company in Canada from home in good old Kentucky, and it's a great job. I don't have to worry about an amazingly huge amount of homework anymore, so I have far more time to write...**

**But I have stuck my nose in a book for a few hours before work, too.**

**Only thing is, my husband asked me for a divorce. So I'm going through that. I signed the divorce papers on Friday and about fell apart, I cried so bad. Writing right now is definitely an outlet, even if I'm mainly working on fanfiction at the moment. I have some original stuff going on as always, unless you've added me on Facebook, you'll probably not see my original work. So... with being divorced, I'm no longer a step mother, which means an insane amount of time to write. The whole asshat leaving me thing is the biggest reason you haven't seen an update on any of my other stories. Chapter One is already actually finished for this story, but I'm gonna try to work on a few other things first before I post it. I want to have a couple chapters in advance before you see anything else, but I'm writing like a mad woman to keep my mind off of everything that is going on in my life. But... Guess what? I'm employed and he isn't, and I'm so glad I don't have to put up with his drama anymore. **

**I'm also drinking a lot more coffee. I forgot how motivated my muse gets when I've had a good cup of Joe brewed. I now have a basement apartment and a bunny, and they equally inspire me. So, I'm not just promising updates on all my stories falsely... I really am going to write since, for right now, I'm just a plain old college graduate. I'm waiting to see if I have been accepted into a graduate program... so yay!**

**So... I'm not going to let on to who the woman is in this prologue right away, even though I welcome speculation. This story came to me about a month ago and I really like the way it's developing. Most of it is in the form of notes on my iPad and randomly written in a notebook I have yet to find since I haven't gotten everything unpacked yet...in fact, my apartment is kind of in huge disarray in my bedroom and I might have stepped on one of my CDs earlier. Bah. I'm afraid to look. But! This is, without a doubt, a Buffy/Angel story pairing. I do have one completely original character, and a few more may come in, but they aren't going to interfere with any of the other traditional pairings from canon. **

**Let me know what you think! And REVIEW! I'm a creative writer, everyone. I will gladly take constructive criticism or suggestions, even though I can't promise the story will go the way you want it to. **

_**Disclaimer: The only character who is mine, at the moment, is Irena (she is an off-shoot of one of my original characters in my novel, and this story is also a character development exercise turned fanfiction). The chances of me ever owning any of the other rights to Buffy or Angel are about as good as my ex-husband reaching the point of rock stardom at the age of thirty-seven with his older, redneck, half-deaf homewrecker. I must remember, I have a job, and they don't. .**_

Prologue

"I need you to get thing this out of me."

Irena sat up stiffly.

"How the hell did you find where I live?"

The blonde vampire looked at her, and they both had a silent understanding of who she was. Irena didn't have to voice it.

Irena stood and fluffed her long black-brown ringlets. She pushed back her gold bangles and closed her_ Cosmopolitan _magazine. The latest tips on landing a guy and her love-life horoscope would have to wait for a few moments.

"Darla, it's _so _lovely to see you again. What can I help you with?"

"Irena, don't give me any gypsy bullshit. I know you can smell it."

Irena sniffed, briefly.

"It's disgusting. How did this happen?"

"How do you think? I slept with Angelus."

Darla took a step back when she heard Irena snarl. Irena, realizing what she was doing, took a deep, unneeded breath and walked over to her closet full of UGG boots and other brand name clothing. Irena was a vampire, but she was still a woman, and she loved her fashion. She reached into the closet, and feeling for a latch at the back underneath her clothes rack, she moved the entire inside of the closet by sliding it open. Fashions by the latest designers were pushed aside for brewing potions and stinky smelling herbs.

"It's a pregnancy your body is going to try to keep with all its might. It's not a mystical pregnancy; you genuinely are pregnant with a human baby. I can hear its heartbeat."

Darla gasped, and by the sound of a shuffling chair, Irena knew she had taken Darla by surprise. Good. She had always been upfront, even when she still lived with her people.

"Don't you, oh, I don't know… maybe want to help me figure out how this happened?"

Irene knew she was giving Darla a condescending look. "Do I really have to into how babies are made?"

Darla made a very unladylike snort of disgust. "No, you don't."

"Here. Drink it."

Darla looked at the vial in a mixture of ground up leaves and liquid with extreme weariness in her eyes. "What is in it?"

"It's a special mixture of strong herbs to induce miscarriage. It might make you sick, but you can use my bathroom." Irena asked.

Darla wanted the baby. Irena could tell—many demons came to her for midwifery. Irena performed other medicinal procedures too, but it took her a long time to gain respect since she was a vampire. She didn't eat patients solely so she could afford her high-fashion sense, and had done so since she discovered how much she liked latest fashion trends in her seventh year of being a vampire.

"This will really get rid of it?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

Irena smiled at her. "It's on me this time, Darla."

"There…there really isn't a catch?" Darla seemed hesitant to take the solution to her problem.

"No, there isn't. But… I have to ask. I thought you were dead?"

Darla laughed, and she laughed hard. "Oh, Irena, I don't see how someone as magically inclined as you can be so stupid. There is a law firm in LA who brought me back to torture Angel."

"He deserves it."

"That may be, but I wish they would have left me out of it," Darla said. "Where is your bathroom?"

"Down the hall, to the right." Irena let Darla's comment about her mental capacity slide. She sat down, picked up her _Cosmo_, and turned to the page about what women speculated men wanted. "Wait! Darla?"

Darla stopped and turned to look at Irena.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for never telling him I'm alive."

Darla smiled wanly. "He would have just tortured himself more, Irena. Did you ever find your sire?"

Yes. "No." Irena relaxed, turning back to her magazine.

Darla screamed five minutes later. Irena simply stood and turned on the radio as loud as she could.

Holy water, it was such a wonderful thing when you could bless it out of harm's way.

Time to go after Daddy.


	2. Chapter One

**This chapter feels really disjointed, but I didn't have a real outline for it since I am not sure what I did with it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far! I wanted to give you a quick update, and let you know tomorrow I'm gonna rework that outline for the story so I have something more feasible and sense-making when you get chapter two. :)**

Chapter One

"Angel, we what are we doing?"

She didn't want to ask the question. She looked at her vampire, watched him as she watched her with his brown eyes. Buffy always felt like she could see Angel's soul when she looked into his eyes. It was cheesy, and corny, but she loved looking into his eyes.

"I know… I know what you're going to say." Angel sighed.

"We need to stop it… this is the third time." She turned on her side and propped her head up with her hand. "We can't… we're risking so much."

"Buffy, I thought I was never going to see you again. I don't think we should beat ourselves up over it," Angel said. For a minute, he looked hurt.

Buffy felt hurt too. It was hard not to feel that way around Angel anymore, ever since he left Sunnydale after her high school graduation.

"I just don't think we can have sex anymore."

* * *

Buffy hated overthinking. She hated trying to logic herself out of something great when it came along, but this was something she had been doing since night one with Angel. The first time they had sex again, it was in Angel's old apartment. Buffy had been crying, and Angel wanted to get her out of the graveyard, away from the prying eyes of curious demons and Captain Peroxide (she just rolled her eyes at his name for Spike). It wasn't just sex; they were able to spend the whole night together in each other's arms. It was such a great distraction from everything Buffy had to worry about now that her mother was dead, and it also distracted her from the fact that her father was AWOL since he moved from L.A. Buffy kind of felt like she had so many things on her plate in the moment before Angel asked her to go back to his old apartment with him she hadn't been sure if she was going to be able to breath. Having Angel with her that night made everything a little better.

Buffy looked at him that morning, and saw his lovely brown eyes and the way he smiled at her in the morning, and she knew everything was okay. But then she realized what she did, the way her skin warmed his and how the little bed he used to have suddenly seemed too small, and she got up, gathered her clothes, and took off without another word.

The meeting in the graveyard wasn't the only time they saw each other, though. All Buffy had to do was call Angel.

"I need you," she said. "But not at the apartment… um, Crawford." The phone went dead and he was in the mansion two hours later. Buffy didn't want to risk leaving Sunnydale again—Glory, the bitch, had her sister, and she didn't want to run into the crazy crusaders again.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked her, his trench coat all billowy. His boots thumped against the hard tile of the floor, and even though it was dark because Buffy hadn't bothered to light most of the old candles, Buffy knew Angel was worried about her. They hadn't cleaned up the spot where he bit her when she saved his life from the poison Faith shot Angel with. They both purposely walked around that area to each other.

"I think I found a way to beat Glory," Buffy told him. She wanted to take his hand and kiss him, but after what happened in the apartment… Buffy blushed and looked down at her feet.

"You did? Do you need help? Is that why you called—"

"I need you to take care of Dawn if something happens to me. Glory is the strongest bad I've ever faced, and I'm not sure if I'm going to make it out alive." Buffy blurted the words out faster than she could take to realize what she was really telling Angel. By the horrified look on his face, she knew she had said too much, but something just wasn't sitting right in her gut about facing Glory even though everyone had a plan. Her sister was in danger, ready to be gutted like a fish, and all Buffy could worry about was something happening to herself.

Well, it was the only way for her to make sure she didn't have a full out break down and go into catatonia again. That was the LAST thing she needed.

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked. "Don't you—is there another prophecy?" He cupped her face in his hand and made her look at him.

"No, there isn't. It's just… Glory is the strongest thing I've ever had to face. She's a god, Angel. A freaking god."

"Didn't you have a troll god's hammer in the magic shop?"

"I—how did you know that?"

Angel shrugged. "Word gets around when something big and hairy trashes The Bronze."

Buffy and Angel looked at each other for a moment, and Buffy could remember thinking she was silly for ever forgetting she had such a powerful weapon at her disposal. She also couldn't shake the fact that she had a feeling something bad was going to happen. What kind of sister was she, meeting up with her ex-lover? Talking battle strategies?

"I just need you to promise you'll take care of Dawn if something happens to me," Buffy said. She realized Angel still had stepped closer to her while they spoke with each other, and he was within an inch of touching her. She tried to step back, but his hand reached out and touched her shoulder.

"I won't, because nothing is going to happen to you, Buffy," Angel said. He sounded so sure of himself.

"Don't be a fool, Angel. I need you to promise me," Buffy huffed. "She doesn't have Mom, and I sure as hell don't expect my father to do anything if something happens to me. She'd—she'd be put in the foster system, and Glory already fuc—"

"Buffy, baby, nothing is going to happen to either one of you, but I can take care of her. You'll get out of this alive. Do you need me to help you?"

Buffy shook her head fiercely. "The less people Glory knows I care about, the better. I told Spike he needs to take her to you as soon as we get her away."

"I really want to help," Angel said.

"You have important stuff to do in LA. But, as long as you promise you'll take care of her if something happens to me—"

Angel silenced her with a kiss. The hand on her shoulder moved down to her waist as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. Angel's lips had always been cold the first few seconds of kissing and before Buffy knew it, she was sinking into the kiss and running her hands through Angel's hair. He wrapped his other arm around her and tried to pull her even closer, as if they weren't close enough together already.

When she felt his hard on, Buffy immediately stepped back.

"We can't do this again. We _can't_."

Angel cleared his throat, pulled his trench coat shut tighter. "Sorry. Just caught up in the moment."

"We were stupid, we risked your soul the first time…we can't do it again." Buffy wanted him so badly, but she made herself take a step back.

Angel grabbed her and kissed her again anyway.

* * *

"I know." Angel said, but Buffy didn't know if she believed him.

"I'm serious! You can't…" Buffy moaned when his hand touched her breast. "What about your soul?"

"I'm controlling my happiness," Angel said, kissing her neck. "Which is really hard because I just found out you came back from the dead three hours ago."

"I didn't come back from the dead; Willow brought me back from the dead." Buffy moaned and tried to get away from Angel, but he was demanding when he wanted to be and wouldn't let her budge, even with her super strength.

"I don't care how it happened, I'm just happy you're here." More kissing.

"Damn it, Angel, will you stop it?" Buffy could stay with him for forever. She wasn't sure if that was so safe. "What are we doing? Just having sex? Risking the fate of the world by testing the boundaries of your curse? I—I'm going through too much right now, adding this—"

Angel sat up and crossed his legs, looking Buffy in the eyes. He grabbed her hand and held it. "I lost you. I actually lost you. I know we're being damn stupid, it's hard to resist. You know, I've thought about what it would be like when you died. How I'd handle it, since you're the Slayer. The first time counted, but it didn't, because you were back a few minutes after it happened. I thought I knew how much I loved you, but I really didn't until after you died."

Buffy sat up too. "Angel…what are you saying?"

"I missed you too damn much. I'm tired of being apart."

Buffy laughed suddenly and stole her hand back from his. "No, no way. I'm not sure I want to go back there—"

Angel looked like he'd been kicked.

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be wonderful… but I'm just so scared about what would happen. So many things have changed the past three years for us."

"I'm not being a damn fool another three years." He sounded resolute in his decision.

Buffy just didn't know what to do. Three years ago, she would have happily jumped into his arms, told him how much she loved him, and wouldn't have thought about the consequences.

"Everyone thought I was in hell. That's why they brought me back to life."

There, go ahead. Change the subject. Maybe that would make him get off this uncomfortable subject.

"_What?"_

He half bellowed the simple word, and Buffy knew, for now, she had distracted him.

"I'm not dropping the subject of us getting back together." Damn. "But how the hell are they so _stupid?"_

"They—they thought they were doing the right thing. But, now there are so many things going on. My pipes broke in the house, and Willow and Tara pretty much used up all the money Mom left for me after she died. There's all this adult stuff I'm trying to figure out now, and it's—"

"Baby," Angel pushed Buffy's bangs away from her face. "I won't push it. I'm not sure what it is, but nothing has happened yet when we had sex. I don't want to keep tempting fate either, but don't you just want to be happy for once?"

Buffy looked away from him.

"Okay, I'm not going to push it. I'm going to give you time. Do you need help getting your finances straight?"

"I need to do this on my own. Could you just be there for me, for moral support? Tara and Willow are living in the house now…eating all the food, running up the electricity bill and they're telling _me _I have no more money."

"Charge them rent. Tell them they have to pay if they want to keep living with you, and if they want to help."

"That's a really good idea… God, it's driving me crazy. Why aren't you all 'GRR' Angelus right now? Not that I'm complaining, but we've slept together three times and the curse is still intact, and I'm wondering _why_."

Angel suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I've tried doing research, but gypsy magic isn't exactly easy to gain access to short of hunting down and pissing off the Romani again. My only guess is I'm able to better control my feelings around you because I feel so guilty about feeling happy we made love."

Oh, yes. Buffy understood exactly what Angel meant. She felt guilty too.

Buffy sighed. "Well, we need to stop giving—"

"Buffy?" Angel asked. She stopped talking to listen to him. "Can we just enjoy it while we can? I'll look more into it, but it isn't exactly something we can go to our friends/co-workers about. I'd rather just enjoy the fact we have been able to be closer, even though we still have to be apart."

Buffy huffed and leaned against the headboard of the hotel room. "I could go to Willow, because she might be able to tell me something about the curse because she had to translate it after Jenny died. It might be in the way the curse was translated or—"

"No offense, Buffy," Angel said, "but I wouldn't trust anyone right now with the knowledge of what we did together while we were here, or the other two nights. I'd rather just the two of us know."

Buffy did initially feel a bit offended, because she went to Willow for everything. Yet, when Buffy thought about it, she wasn't sure what she could trust anyone with right now because of the fact they used all her savings her mother left to her and thought she was in hell while she was dead. Besides, if Buffy told Willow she and Angel slept together without the original ramifications of Angel's curse, she'd become obsessed with the spell, and Tara would find out, then Xander would find out, and all hell would break loose.

Then her stomach growled.

"Um, wow, I just realized how hungry I am."

Angel stood, and Buffy had to force herself not to pull him back into the bed.

"We shouldn't drive ourselves crazy worrying about this," Angel said. "And you need to eat. I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

Buffy smiled at him. "I think a burger sounds good. I haven't had a burger since I came back from the dead."

Angel frowned at her. "Quit making jokes like that."

Buffy laughed, played confused by his reaction. "What? You're allowed to constantly remind me you're actually a living corpse, but I'm not allowed to joke about coming back to life?"

**I know, the chapter mainly consisted of Buffy and Angel talking about having sex/almost having it, but this chapter was mostly just to help set up the setting of the story to let everyone know where they stand immediately in the story…which is on the brink of almost getting back into a relationship with each other. In some other B/A stories, they dance around getting back together, but I wanted a full-on sexual relationship for them to be developing now. I will not write outright smut. I like leaving a little bit of imagery there for you own imagination. I promise the story will not entirely be composed of sex, and I will address the issue of why Angel isn't GRRR like Buffy put it. XD**

**So, leave me a review? :) I'd love to hear what you have to say!**

**BTW, I can't always promise updates will be this fast, but I might make an effort to post at least once or twice a week. It just depends on my work schedule, which I make for myself anyway!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes: I wanted to give you guys a longer chapter, but it isn't coming to me just yet. I have four days off, so I'm sure you'll get another chapter between now and Tuesday. Hugh Jass Burgers is actually something in Lexington, KY, and I used it as a name for the place Buffy wanted to go just because my imagination wasn't sharp enough to invent something tonight…LOL. I'll try to make the next chapter longer, but shorter chapters also mean faster updates so who knows… length can really vary from 3 pages to 13 pages for me in a chapter. My goal is to write write write on this fic, LOL. **

* * *

Chapter Two

Buffy took in a deep breath when she walked outside of the hotel and soaked in the smell of the beach. She remembered dreaming about Angel shortly after she sent him to hell, how she dreamed about the beach and how he wrapped his arms around her near the water and how she felt so secure in his arms she knew everything would be right in that moment.

Of course, the dream hadn't turned out exactly the way she wanted it to but she and Angel managed to find the spot when he came back from Hell. It was only fifteen minutes from the hotel she and Angel were staying in.

Buffy didn't feel the overwhelming stress and pressure of being an adult when she was with Angel. The whole world and all of its problems disappeared. As she breathed in the salty smell of the air, Angel held her hand and Buffy nearly forgot she was pulled from Heaven.

"Where do you want to eat?" Angel asked her.

"Um… Hugh Jass Burgers? I might even get a drink."

Angel smiled widely at Buffy. "That's right. You're twenty-one now, right?"

"I just really want a beer." Buffy said, smiling back.

"Only one beer, though, all right? You don't need to turn into a cave woman."

Buffy's skin flushed with heat. "Oh, god, you heard about that?"

Angel laughed. "Willow and Cordelia actually keep in touch with each other."

"Oh… I NEVER wanted you to know about that…"

"So, one beer?"

Buffy nodded in agreement. "One beer."

For a Tuesday night, the surrounding boardwalk was not very busy. That was what Buffy liked about the area. Less people meant less of a chance of trouble.

"So… tell me more about the girl you rescued from Pikea."

Angel actually rolled his eyes at her. "Pylea. Fred was highly traumatized from being there. She is constantly writing mathematical equations on the wall of her room. I actually had to stop her from writing down that she had to stop writing on the walls before I came to see you."

"Wow," Buffy said. "Poor girl. Sounds like Willow would love her."

"She would. Fred is extremely smart…"

"You don't…?"

Angel stopped Buffy in the middle of the sidewalk. They were a block away from Hugh Jass Burgers, standing under a dim street light. Angel bent down and kissed Buffy soundly, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

"I told you, you'd always be my girl. That isn't going to change for anything. Being dead made you too insecure…"

Buffy raised her right hand, and with her thumb and index finger, held them an inch apart from each other. "It's silly. I know. I was worried about Cordy too."

Angel shook his head at Buffy.

"That's like me worrying about you getting into a relationship with Spike."

"Yeah, but you're right. Being dead made me a little insecure." Buffy gave a nervous, tiny half-hearted laugh.

"I think you'd be better off dead."

The cold chill crept up Buffy's neck and made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up so fast, Buffy hardly had a chance to realize how spooked she was by the woman's voice.

Buffy never got spooked like that.

Angel's arms wrapped around Buffy's waist tightly before he suddenly pushed her behind him.

"Angel, what the hell?" Buffy asked.

The woman actually jingled as she walked closer to Angel and Buffy. When she got closer, Buffy realized the woman had at least twenty gold bangles on each arm. Her hair spanned far past her butt and she looked like she wasn't any older than seventeen.

"You tried killing me. You weren't so thorough."

The look… this woman was definitely not from the nineteenth century. Her pale skin and lack of breathing made it obvious. But, she didn't look like she wasn't from the nineteenth century in the way she dressed. No, actually, she had on a nice pair of jeans and a bright red blouse which made the color of her black-brown hair pop.

Vampire.

"I'm sorry, if it's worth anything to you." Angel said to the girl.

"Fuck you," she spat. She pulled up her left pant leg. "Remember these?"

Her entire thigh was riddled with bite marks. Angel stood solid as stone in front of Buffy.

Buffy burst her way in front of Angel, placed herself in between he and the girl. "Who are you?"

Vampire definitely was evident in this girl the way she moved and how her eyes briefly flecked toward Buffy's throat, where Angel's bite scared her neck, before she looked at Buffy's face. She released her pant leg, and it fell above her black high heels.

"Oh, sweetheart, if you don't know, I'm not going to bother tonight. She's beautiful, Angelus."

Those words chilled Buffy's skin. A huge sense of déjà vu washed over Buffy. It was so strong it almost made her sick.

Angel forced Buffy behind him again. "What are you going to do? Take on the Slayer and me? Not a smart move."

"You're right…" The girl started looking around. "I can't wait to start fucking with your heads."

Suddenly, the girl was, gone, and Angel was holding Buffy back to prevent her from chasing the woman. Buffy had her stake out.

"Angel, what is going on?" Buffy stopped struggling against him, even though she _really_ wanted to chase that girl.

"I can't go after her… you shouldn't either."

"What do you mean? Who was she?"

Angel raked his hands through his hair. "Can we get in my car first? I want you far away from this place… now." Angel took her hand, and tried to walk. He turned to her in frustration when Buffy pulled back her arm stubbornly.

"I _won't _move until you tell me who she was!"

"Okay, fine, I'll tell you!" Angel threw his hands up in defeat. "The night I was cursed, Darla and I killed the Romani's most prized daughter…"

"I know this story. Why are you repeating yourself?" Buffy interrupted.

"She's the girl I killed. Irena. She…I thought we killed her, but somehow she turned."


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Whedon does. I'm just borrowing his characters. Irena, however, and all mentions of her do belong to me as she is based off one of my original characters in a novel I've been working on since 2007.

Author Notes:

I'm skipping around a little in this chapter, particularly to the day when Buffy tried getting back into Sunnydale. Warner and the geek squad are still going to try to fuck with her until someone catches them and gets pissed. ;) I kinda blended getting back into college with the financial situation talk/deal with Giles going home. I haven't watched Season six lately just so I would feel more comfortable with writing the chapter. I've decided one of the reasons my stories kept getting held up is I keep worrying about how the stories are going to work with canon with dialogue and everything from the show.

I wanted to thank the three reviewers who have stuck with the story so far, and the numerous other anonymous people who have added the story to alerts. :P Could you please let me know what you think if you haven't reviewed yet? I won't bite, lol! I promised another update this week, so here it is. I had to drink HUGE amounts of coffee and prevent myself from dancing to my music on numerous occasions while I wrote it.

* * *

Chapter Three

"What do you mean, you guess she got turned?" Buffy asked, "because the last time I checked, when someone is nearly killed by a vampire draining all their blood, the vampire has to offer its own blood to the person in order for them to be changed. Otherwise they just die…or need a blood transfusion, in my case." She half laughed as she spoke to Angel, not sure how he could let something as important as a pissed off gypsy woman getting turned into a vampire be something he wasn't sure about.

Angel raked his hand through his hair. "Not here, we need to get in the car."

"I drove here, too," Buffy protested as he grabbed her hand and started walking her back to the hotel.

"I don't want you driving home by yourself. Not with Irena still alive."

"Angel, this is ridiculous. She got turned into a vampire, so what? I'm fairly certain she'll go down as easy as Darla—"

Angel turned to her suddenly. "Stop, this isn't the time."

He wasn't aware of what he was doing, but Angel was squeezing Buffy's hand tightly, to the point of pain. She tried to take her hand from his but when she looked into his eyes, she saw how truly unnerved Angel was by Irena being alive. This was not a joking matter to him, and she realized that. Maybe they had been apart from each other for too long, because Buffy was fairly certain she was having a hard time reading her ex-boyfriend's emotions.

"Okay, then. Let's go to your car. What are you going to do? Drive me home?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you really ARE being ridiculous." Buffy huffed, but she let Angel lead her back to the hotel anyway.

It wasn't until they were in his car that they spoke with each other again.

"Have you ever thought about how incredibly ironic it is that you're a vampire and you have a convertible?"

"She threatened your life, Buffy."

Angel let off a deep sigh. The light was better in the parking lot of the hotel than when they had been walking to the restaurant. Angel looked shaken. There wasn't a better way to describe it to herself; he looked shaken, as if he'd just seen a ghost. He had, Buffy thought. To go all these years, thinking Irena was dead, that he had killed her, to realize she was a vampire now.

"Angel, it's okay, baby." Buffy placed her hand on Angel's shoulder. "I've faced worse, really, I have."

"I don't think I could take it if you died again," Angel said with a heavy sigh. He dug his key from his coat and then started up the car.

"Well, I won't die then," Buffy said.

"I don't plan on letting you."

"What do you mean by that?" Buffy asked.

"I think I should stay with you in Sunnydale a while," Angel said.

"That's a horrible idea," Buffy said. She pulled her hand from his shoulder and buckled herself in the car.

"I don't think I'm going to give you a choice," Angel said.

"Unless you plan on putting Angel Investigations on hold—something I HIGHLY think Cordelia would have a problem with, I don't think you should. You are not my boyfriend anymore. I have a life now, and I have to figure it out on my own."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Buffy knew Angel was hurt. She knew the exact same words were running through his head as they were through hers. Why were they having sex then, if they weren't together? Why did they constantly let each other know how much they were still in love? Why could they be so close to each other, but so far apart Buffy felt like she couldn't breathe sometimes when she was with Angel the rare times they saw each other now that he moved to Los Angeles?

What did it mean; that they could make love, and he wasn't Angelus?

"You're right," Angel finally said as they pulled onto the interstate. Buffy forced herself to ignore the familiar sight of the interstate at night. "We have lives now, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be your boyfriend again, Buffy."

"Angel… I was just pulled from heaven and all of a sudden the dead girl you were cursed for comes walking back into your life, into our lives, and threatens us. I don't know if we should anything official." Buffy also wanted to express how much of an idiot she felt for saying such an awful thing. She wanted to be with Angel. She wanted to be with him so bad, she couldn't stand it.

"For now, you're probably right. We don't even understand what is going on with my curse right now. I don't understand how we can…"

"Make love. It's the best word choice," Buffy said so quickly, the words almost blended together.

"Make love, and I haven't lost my soul yet. I need to talk to Wesley about it. And maybe see Giles."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, don't say anything to Giles. I am hearing, 'Buffy, get a job.' If it's not that, it's, 'Buffy, cheer up! You're not in hell anymore!' or 'You need to be an adult now and take care of yourself and Dawnie.'" Buffy snorted in disgust. "I do NOT want to think what would happen if Giles found out. He…he probably would just be disappointed with me, but Spike freaking snoops all over the place and I'm sure he'd hear, and then Willow and Xander would hear and—"

"Buffy, sweetheart," Angel interrupted her. He held the steering wheel with his left hand and took her hand with his right. "I won't tell Giles if you don't want me to."

"Only tell Wesley if you think he'll keep his mouth shut. It's not that I'm ashamed of myself for making love to you. It's really not, I just don't want to hear about all the bad decisions we're making by giving in to each other."

"It's probably better I stay in L.A. then," Angel agreed. "I don't think we should tell anyone we've slept together, but it's all right to let them know Irena is still alive. I'm not sure how dangerous she is, and even though she's pissed, I don't think she's stupid."

"You have to call me more," Buffy said.

Angel stayed quiet for a minute. He didn't exactly like phones, and Buffy could talk on them for hours if given the chance.

"Well, you still haven't exactly figured out how to e-mail a girl, so the phone is the other option."

They remained quiet a few minutes after that as he drove. Buffy hated silence. They had been talking so much to each other, she felt like they were actually communicating efficiently for the first time in a long time. Figures she had to die for that to happen, she thought.

"Okay. Not boyfriend/girlfriend." She said suddenly. "Um, you never told me about the night you were cursed."

It was a bold statement. So bold a statement, Angel didn't pay attention as he pulled into another lane to pass a car and got honked at when he almost ran into another car. Angel had told her about his past before, but he never liked going into details about it.

"There's not much to tell. Darla and I tore part Irena's body when we fed from her and then dumped her after we were sure she was dead."

"Um—tore? She didn't seem so torn up…"

"Below her torso."

Buffy had to take a minute to think about that.

"Oh, the scars. Don't tell me anymore. So, you thought she was dead?"

"Yes." Angel stayed quiet for a few moments. "I don't know how she got turned into a vampire, but there is a possibility there were others out there when we attacked her. If there's even a drop, sometimes, that's enough until you can find your own victim."

"Right…" Buffy said.

A sudden thought crossed her mind, one she wasn't sure she wanted to ask Angel about. It was stupid. She wasn't sure it could even be possible, but then again, she didn't know as much about Irena and the Romani as Angel did.

"Is it possible she still knows the old magic?" Buffy asked.

"It's definitely a possibility, and not something I want to really think about right now."

* * *

Angel had just dropped Buffy off home. She told him it would be better if he didn't stay, because she didn't want him running into Tara, Willow, or anyone who might be at her house and have a bunch of questions thrown at them the moment they walked in the door.

Willow jumped off the couch as soon as she walked into the house.

"Buffy! Hey! How as seeing Angel?"

"Intense."

"Intense? That's all you're going to give me? No smootchies?" Willow almost shrieked when she said this. It was still night time. Buffy quickly scanned the general vicinity of the dining room, stairs, and living room. No one else seemed like they were awake.

"Willow!" Buffy laughed.

"I had to go a really _long _time without girl talk, Buffy. I mean, I girl talk with Tara, but she's my girlfriend, and so there's only so much girl talk I can do with her before I need to talk to my _best _friend. Now, how was seeing Angel? Why was it intense?"

Buffy sighed heavily, she didn't want to tell Willow what happened, but she did all at the same time. There was so much she wanted, and needed, to tell Willow.

"Are you the only person up right now?" She asked instead.

"I couldn't sleep. I was too curious about what was going on with you and Angel. You were gone a whole day, Buffy. I thought you guys were just going to meet up, and you'd tell him you were okay, and that would be that. But you were gone a WHOLE day." Willow opened up her cell phone. "And almost two nights, too, since it's like three A.M."

"I was really gone that long?" Buffy asked as she walked into the living room and flopped down onto her couch.

"Yeah! I was starting to get worried. I wish you hadn't forgotten your phone."

Willow, and her technology! Buffy wanted to laugh because Willow bought Buffy, Tara, and herself prepaid cell phones shortly after Buffy came back to life. They all needed a way to communicate with each other than a land line, especially if Buffy was going to insist on slaying herself.

She'd done that quite a bit since she'd been back, too, but it wasn't something Buffy particularly noticed unless she thought about it.

"Hey, you're stalling! Were there smootchies?" Willow asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Of course we kissed each other."

"Sweet, tender ones? Or making out so much you almost—"

"_Willow!_" Buffy didn't know if she wanted to laugh at her best friend or be worried that she was worried Buffy would do something stupid and risk Angel risking his soul.

Well. She had. Several times, the entire day she spent with Angel. Now that Buffy thought about it, she was extremely tired because even though she and Angel rested, they never fully fell asleep while they were at the hotel together.

"Buffy, you just don't know how upset he was when I told him how you died… he almost couldn't come to your funeral… and we had one, even though it was all secret and under wraps because we didn't want anyone to know what happened."

Buffy pulled her right knee up to her breasts and swiped her long hair to the side. "Really? I… I know he was torn up. First thing he did when he saw me, he hugged me so tight, I thought my heart was going to get pushed into my throat."

Willow smiled. "I think it's so sweet. After all this time, he's still in love with you… I wish you would stop being so darn stupid!"

"Willow… it's so complicated. I wish I could be with Angel, but I just can't right now."

"I hate that damn curse," Willow said. "I'm getting strong now. My magic is so much stronger than when I first started. I wonder if I could find a way to get rid of the clause."

"No—Please, don't try to mess with his curse."

Buffy didn't tell Willow this, but the thought of her trying to do anything to Angel's curse shook her insides heavily.

Willow huffed and sat back against the couch. "Why not? It's worth a try."

"You don't think…you don't think Jenny did something to the curse, do you?"

Buffy had been thinking about this for a while. The only way she could think as to why she didn't break Angel's curse when they made love was that Jenny _had _to have done something to Angel's curse to keep him from losing his soul again. It was thinking about that which made Buffy miss Jenny terribly. She regretted not fully forgiving her right before she died for what happened when Angel lost his soul. She, Angel, and Willow wouldn't have noticed a difference if she did, would they? They had never seen the original curse, and they had never compared the one Jenny saved on a disk to the one she translated.

"It's possible," Willow said. "Hey, why do you ask?"

Buffy shook her head. "He was happy, Willow. I think that alone should have sufficed for him losing his soul. And…we made out. Heavy. Like almost made love." That was all she was telling Willow, and Buffy was determined to leave it at that. "Please don't tell anyone?

"…" Willow stayed quiet for a minute.

"Say something, Will, come on… I am already beating myself up about this enough as it is."

"My lips are sealed." Willow made a motion with her fingers, zipping them across her lips and then fake-threw a key behind her back.

"Seriously, Willow! I dread to think what everyone else would say…"

"Yeah. Xander would probably scream. _I _should scream."

Buffy frowned.

"You could. I really don't want to wake anyone up…and I'd like to think Xander has grown up immensely."

"You have to promise me it won't happen again until we find out what happened."

"Something else happened…" Buffy started to say.

Someone stomped down the stairs. Buffy immediately knew it was her little sister as Dawn slammed her hand against the hallway to turn on the lights above the stairs.

"I can hear you two all the way upstairs in my bedroom, you know!"

Buffy suddenly felt very stupid about talking about everything with Willow at home.

"Do you actually know what I was saying?" Buffy asked her.

"No, I just know you were being obnoxiously loud. I'm shocked Tara is sleeping through all your yammering."

"I'm sorry, Dawnie," Willow said. "We'll try to be quieter."

"Okay…whatever." Dawn stomped back up the stairs.

"So, what were you saying?" Willow asked Buffy.

"Oh, nothing." Buffy said. She yawned. "I forgot."

Big fat liar, Buffy. She repeated the phrase in her head several times. She knew she should have mentioned Irena, and how she threatened both she and Angel, but she was home safe now in Sunnydale. She didn't think she would have to worry about the girl Angel was cursed over at the moment. She doubted Irena even knew where she lived.

"You should go to bed, then," Willow said, yawning. "I should too. I've been up too late and I have to go to class in the morning. Are you going to try to get back into class?"

"I'm going to try," Buffy said as both girls stood up. They walked up the stairs together. "It's worth a shot, anyway, to try to get back into school."

They got to Willow's room first. "I have no doubt you can get back in if you beg and plead." She smiled at Buffy.

"Yeah… let's hope it's as easy as you say it is," Buffy said.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was sound asleep.

* * *

Getting back did not prove to be as easy as Buffy thought it would be.

For some reason for most of the day while she was trying to attend class, she kept fast forwarding in time. Buffy didn't know what the fuck that was all about. She found this little itty bitty metal thing on her shirt, and when she smashed it, everything seemed to stop. She wasn't sure what was messing with her, but she went home right after it happened to Willow, Tara, Anya, Xander, and Giles sitting around her kitchen table.

"What's this? The Spanish Inquisition?" Buffy asked.

"No," Anya said. "You just are completely broke. You should get a job! Just not at my magic shop."

"_Anya,_" Xander said. Buffy saw a distinct push on his part which made Anya look at him like, "what have I done now?"

Buffy sat down heavily in one of her kitchen chairs. "Broke, huh? Great. I kinda think I blew getting back into college, and getting any kind of financial aid for the semester that might help me."

"Oh-um, I mean of course, you can work retail in my store any time you would like if you think you're suited to work in a magic shop," Anya finally said.

Buffy smiled at her. "Thank you, but I have a few things I wanted to line out today anyway. I'm glad everyone is here."

"Sure," Willow said. "What's on your mind?"

"When I went to see Angel, and when I was with him, I had a lot to think about while we were together. Tara, Willow, I love having you both here, but Anya just said it. I'm broke. I don't want you to have to live in a dorm if you don't have to because it'll save you way more money here, but you have to give me some kind of monetary kickback."

Willow and Tara looked at each other. Buffy's demand shocked them, she knew, and she felt a little insulted by the thought they never thought about giving her any kind of rent money to stay with her in her house.

"What kind?" Tara asked.

"Buy your own food… I was thinking at least two-fifty for rent and help me pay other bills, like electricity and water. You've both made the utility bills go up since you've both been here."

That was something Angel also suggested to her on the way back to Sunnydale, but she wasn't going to mention that he suggested it.

"We can do that—" Tara started.

"But we don't exactly have jobs…" Willow said.

"Well, if Buffy decides she doesn't want to work at the magic shop, maybe we can work there, right, Anya and Giles?"

Anya looked like she was about to immediately protest, but Giles cleared his throat.

"I'd love to hire all three of you if you need it. It could help the profits of the store."

"It'll drain my pa—"

"_Anya,_" Xander said. "You'd also probably really rock construction work, Buff," he said.

Buffy sighed. "Thank you, guys. Thank you a bunch. I don't think I could do this without you guys at least trying to be there for me."

Giles placed stood and placed his hand on her shoulder. "That's what we try to be here for, Buffy."

"Did you have any luck today?" Willow asked, referring to school.

"Um," Buffy said. "I think I'm just going to sit out another semester. I'm already too late to register for class. The financial aid office told me they weren't sure what they could give me now, and billing said they'd have to give me a massive amount of late fees if I tried to get in now. It's just better if I apply for the Spring semester."

* * *

Hitting a punching bag felt good.

Buffy always loved training. It was a way to let out her frustration during the day when she couldn't hunt. Everyone was at the Magic Box, and Willow and Tara were trying their hand at working the store with Anya. Anya complained about everything they did, especially when Willow got excited about a new item which came in and Anya didn't want her to take it.

"I'll fire you if you just take that! You get an employee discount now! Don't buy that one! We'll never make a profit if you use your discount to buy EVERYTHING!"

Giles and Xander tried to explain the concept to Anya, but she just wanted to yell at Willow. That was when Giles and Buffy decided it was better to go back into the training room to work on a few things and talk.

"Buffy, could we stop training for just a moment? I'd like to speak with you." Giles said suddenly.

"Eh, am I in trouble? I swear I haven't done anything stupid since I was a teenager that would warrant a Giles lecture."

Giles laughed openly, and loudly, at Buffy.

"I just wanted to know how you're doing." Giles sat on a bench.

"I'm fine," Buffy lied.

She kept thinking about how wonderful it was to have been in heaven, to know she was _finally _done Slaying and that she could rest. She didn't remember much about the experience, just knowing that everyone was safe was enough to put her at ease. She thought consistently about Irena's threat, too, and wondered if Angel had managed to find out any information about anything regarding to the gypsy vampire.

She also constantly missed Angel, and wished she hadn't told him to go back to Los Angeles, but she was glad she did at the same time because it kept them from doing something stupid together.

"Are you sure? I worry that waking up in your coffin and seeing Angel might have shaken you up more than you're willing to admit," Giles said.

Why did Giles have to be so observant?

Well, he _was _her Watcher.

"I swear, Giles… I'm fine." Buffy smiled at him. "Why do you think there is something wrong?"

Giles started cleaning his glasses. Oh, crap, Buffy thought. She knew it was serious now. He was cleaning his glasses out of nervousness, or out of lack of something to say.

"I need to go back to England."

Buffy sat next to him.

"What? No! You can't go back to England now," she said.

"I have some affairs I must get in order back home. I don't think there is anything else I can teach you right now that you don't already know." Giles said.

"That's bullshit," Buffy spat at him. She stood up again.

"Buffy!"

"What? Giles, it's a terrible time to go back to England." Buffy started pacing back and forth.

Giles crossed his arms. "I thought you were fine, Buffy."

"I'm not as fine as you think I am," Buffy said.

"Then speak to me about it? I know there is something going on. Willow is a terrible liar."

Damn. Buffy shouldn't have spilled her guts like she did to Willow so easily. She was a horrible liar, and so easy to read.

"I'm not ready to yet," Buffy said. "Please don't go back to England?"

"You're an adult now, Buffy." Giles said.

"Giles, if I didn't need you, I wouldn't have let myself get killed."

She struck a chord. Buffy could see it in his face. He looked pained, and he looked away suddenly. Was he wiping his eyes?

"Besides… the girl Angel thought he killed when the Romani cursed him is a vampire. Her name was—well is, Irena."

She had his attention now.

Buffy told Giles the entire story. She didn't know why she was telling a second person about this, but when she thought about it, Angel's entire team knew about the situation already. They didn't know Buffy and Angel had slept together, no. Willow only thought they got _close _to having sex, and Buffy wanted it to stay like that for as long as possible.

"If Irena threatened your life, Buffy, you need to take this seriously."

"I'm in Sunnydale, I don't think Irena knows where we are."

"What if she followed Angel home that night? What if she wanted to spook Angel into leading her where you live?"

"Angel would be here if he thought she was a real danger. I just wonder who the hell turned her into a vampire. I don't think Spike, Darla, or Drusilla would have been stupid enough to turn her."

"What's that 'bout Dru now?"

Buffy groaned as Spike walked into the training room.

* * *

More Notes: Okay, I've officially stayed up until 4 am for you guys to write this chapter. I'm glad I don't have to work in the morning, ever. I wanted to keep writing this chapter, but then I realized how long it was, and was like…okay. I need to seriously get to sleep. LOL I've efficiently disturbed my rabbit too, my little fuzz ball is all like…glaring at me because he doesn't have a carrot and the lights are on. Again, please review this time? It helps inspire me when I get feedback. :) I also tried editing out some stuff I originally wrote, because I decided it was too soon for Buffy to reveal some information to Willow, so I hope I caught all of it. If anything seems misplaced, please let me know when you review so I can fix it. The coffee just wore off! LOL


	5. Chapter Four

**In this chapter, Buffy is going to keep her job working with construction because I don't like the idea of her working at the Double Meat Palace. Yuck! The trio hasn't really started messing around with her yet, because I haven't decided how I want to deal with that situation yet.**

**Okay, I really wanted to write more, and I really wanted to refine this chapter, but I do have to get up at 9 in the morning to work. LOL, I know I said I never have to work in the morning, but my job has over time where I'm getting 40, if not more, hours of work a week, and they needed a few extra people for another project, so I signed on for a break from working evenings. I have a Keurig now, and while it's the best thing EVER since sliced bread, I don't want to blow through my variety pack of K-Cups in one night trying to write a chapter (and oh…. Oh, I could totally do that, because I love the coffee so much). I also wanted to let you all know I'm alive and haven't forgotten the story :P **

**I don't like how I ended the chapter, but I might go back and add more later. I'm tired, and my computer is demanding a bios update, but I'm not doing that until the weekend even though I'm running other updates. My touchpad also started acting bitchy, so I don't feel like messing with that either. If you have any ideas, or have anything else you want me to elaborate in on this chapter, let me know in a review. My brain is a little fried from work this week, and words of encouragement/ideas/something you might want to see in the story could help me get out another chapter faster. :) If I add more to the chapter, I'll let you know in a bold, underlined sentence in the next update. **

**I really would appreciate more reviews. I know several of you have read it, and added it to alerts, but haven't reviewed yet. Maybe as a bribe, I'll promise to get my butt in gear and update one of my other stories if I get more than 10 reviews on the chapter. I have a lot of time on my hands now since my husband left me. (I'm dealing with that fine, by the way. I've decided he's going to be reincarnated as a dung beetle in Africa and live a short, miserable life on a huge pile of poo before he's smashed by an elephant. It's a little childish, but it helps me get through my day.)**

* * *

Chapter Four

Angel sat in his office at the Hyperion, a cup of blood in one hand as he turned the page of the book he was reading in the other. In full research mode, he had been up all night reading, as it had been a slow night and no one had called for help. It was rare that Angel ever got a break anymore, but he was glad he did, because this research was important.

He was getting frustrated though. He felt like he was getting nowhere because nothing he read was helping.

"Were you up all night, Angel?"

Taking a sip of his blood, Angel looked up at Cordelia. "Well, yes, I'm a vampire."

Cordelia closed her eyes and laughed. "I meant you've holed yourself up in your office all night, for what?" She walked up to his desk and picked up one of the books Angel had been sifting through. "Oh… Gypsy research? Is something wrong?"

Angel didn't answer her, just went back to reading.

"_That's _what you and Wesley have been whispering about the past week!" Cordelia's hands shot to her hips. "Okay, come on, don't leave me hanging on this. Did you bump uglies or something with Buffy again? Are you worried about the stability of your curse? I gotta know if I'm out of a job!"

Angel just loved his best friend's enthusiasm. "No, Cordelia, my curse is not in trouble. I didn't want to alarm anyone with what's going on."

"Well, what _is _going on?" Cordelia picked up another book. "Is this a watcher's diary?"

Did Angel want to tell Cordelia what was going on? He would rather she not know, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what kind of threat Irena really was. She didn't give off the normal stupid vampire vibe—Angel was excellent at sniffing them out and dusting them, as an older vampire.

Irena was much, much smarter.

Angel had no idea who her sire was, either. That was why he had so many books out. Watchers loved to write, and Angel was certain there was a time when one may have had an encounter with Irena.

"How much do you actually know about my curse?" Angel said to Cordelia.

"Your curse? Um… You pissed off gypsies, got cursed. If you are around Buffy, you get all 'Grrrr!'"

Cordelia could be so eloquent sometimes.

"The Romani, yes, they were the gypsies. But they didn't just curse me because I angered them, I killed their most prized daughter when she was seventeen. Darla brought her to me—and I was…"

"I know exactly how you were," Cordelia said.

"I was worse than that before I was cursed. I didn't play head games that night—Darla and I were trying to move fast, and we were just hungry. We left her in the woods near the Romani to mess with their heads—what a terrible tragedy, it was, for the Romani to find Irena."

"I knew you killed a girl," Cordelia said. "But you never told anyone her name." Cordelia sat in a chair in front of Angel's desk, pulled her legs up into the chair, and crossed them. She put the watcher's diary in her lap and pushed back a piece of her hair.

"Somehow, Irena got turned into a vampire."

"What?"

* * *

_Six weeks later_

"Spike, I'm NOT doing this."

Spike jumped in front of Buffy, a look of frustration on his face as he continued to step in Buffy's way. He took a drag from his cigarette and put his hand on a tree in front of Buffy, preventing her from walking any farther.

"Damn right we're doing this, love. What were you talking about that was so important with Giles a few weeks ago? You, the redhead, and Watcher have been all hush, hush about everyone and I know it's got something to do with the poofter." Spike took a drag of his cigarette. "You mentioned Dru, too, you really think I'm going to let this go?"

Buffy crossed her arms and glared at him. "At least you aren't professing your undying love about me anymore."

Spike took a step back, holding his pallid hand against his heart. "You wound me! I still can smell Angel all over you. I know that even though I'm love's bitch, he's worse off."

"It wasn't anything important, Spike. Now leave me alone before—"

"You're really going to pound on a poor, chipped bloke?"

"Don't test me."

Buffy hadn't told anyone else but Giles and Willow about Irena and her connection to Angel. She wanted to, oh, she wanted to, but she wasn't sure how Xander, Tara, Anya, and Dawn would take the news that the girl who Angel attacked and got cursed for was still alive—undead—and thoroughly pissed off. Buffy was sure their reactions would not have been as calm as Giles and Willow's. Telling Giles had also had its advantages, as he had completely forgotten about going home.

Fascinated with Irena and Angel's pasts, Giles wanted to investigate the matter further and had been having particularly long conversations with Wesley over the phone for the past week.

"I want to bloody know what's going on. That damn witch has powers to block out things so we can't hear what you're talking about, and—"

The feeling of Spike's nose crunching under Buffy's fist made her feel better.

"Go away, S—"

"Buffy, look out!"

Buffy was caught off guard when a new vampire suddenly charged at her, knocking her from her feet. She landed with a hard thud on the ground, her head forcefully landing on the solid grass. It took her a moment to gather her bearings and sit back up, but by the time she had, Spike had already dusted the vampire.

"Bloody rude," he said. "Bit like you punching me in the nose. Karma, completely deserved!"

Buffy slowly stood up as she glared at the platinum blonde. "I wish you would just—oh, god!" Buffy suddenly felt light headed and dizzy, and before she knew it, she was emptying the contents of her stomach behind a gravestone.

Buffy had received help from her friends before, but never did she think Spike would ever hold her hair back as she barfed her brains out.

"Hey, you all right, luv? That was a nasty fall, sorry I was being a git."

"I'm—" Buffy gulped in a large amount of air, "all right."

"We better get you back to the shop, tell your lackies what happened." Spike brushed her hair from her forehead. "You've got a nasty cut, there."

"I've had worse," Buffy shoved his hands away from her, the queasy feeling finally going away.

"Don't they make you carry a cell phone now?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, why—hey!" Buffy almost staked Spike when he reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cell phone. Other than a reason to grab her ass, he was LUCKY that was what he took out and flipped open. "What in the world do you think you're doing—"  
Spike immediately held up his hand to silence her.

"Red, yeah—Buffy got a nasty cut from a newbie. Yep. She's okay, puked her brains out—yep, see you in a bit."

Buffy snatched her cell phone away from Spike.

"I. Hate. You—not again!"

She spent the next two or three minutes dry heaving behind another tombstone.

* * *

Back at the Magic Shop, Buffy held an ice pack over her head.

"You could have a concussion."

"Don't bleed all over my books—"

"_Anya!" _

"You should go to the hospital, Buffy."

"You stupid jerk! I swear if my sister gets brain damage because of this, I'll stake you myself!"

"Would you all just _shut up _for a minute?" Buffy took in a deep breath, a headache setting in as the table in front of her started to spin.

After a small silence, Buffy stood.

"I'm fine. I don't feel like I have a concussion. I've been hit worse than this on the head, and I don't know why I feel sick, but it might just be because I haven't been hit like that since I was brought back to life. I'm _not_ going to a hospital. I just want to go home and go to sleep."

They all finally agreed she didn't have to go to a hospital, and for that Buffy was grateful. She was certain Willow and Xander were ready to drag her kicking and screaming, and they would have had to enlist Spike's help in order to pull off such a feat because she wouldn't have gone easily. Giles patched up the wound on her face; she had been cut with a sharp rock, which she hadn't noticed when she was knocked to the ground. The cleaning had hurt, but her cut was already almost gone by the time he was finished cleaning it. The queasiness eventually went away and Buffy was able to stand without feeling like she was going to ruin some of the merchandise in the shop. Xander told her to take the day to herself tomorrow, as she had been working for him in construction for about a week. She purposely had to stop herself from doing too much work around the other men Xander worked with, because the first day she did, they complained about her getting the work done too fast. Buffy agreed to taking a day off after a lot of protesting, but Xander was her boss, and she wasn't going to get him to decide anything else no matter how much she promised him he was fine.

"Only way I'm letting you work, Summers, is if you go to the hospital."

Buffy obviously opposed that option, so she hushed and agreed to take the day off. She didn't like Xander's newfound power over her as her boss. He acted silly about it most of the time, but he knew he was telling her to take the day off out of genuine concern for her.


	6. Chapter Five

I'm working on Chapter Six right after this story. I got paid yesterday and went a little spending crazy—a new lamp and Katy Perry Album were amongst the list of things I needed as well as paying my bills. LOL. So, now, I have music blasting in my ears so loud I can't hear myself type. In one of my more eccentric moods, I think you all might be lucky enough to get two chapters this weekend. I'm not PROMISING, but I'm going to just see where writing takes me tonight. As always, reviews are appreciated after you're done reading. :) Hopefully the next chapter will be less choppy.

* * *

Chapter Five

"So this is where you're living these days?"

Irena slowly put down her _Cosmo._

"Angelus. I didn't think you would find me so easily."

"I have my sources…"

"Ah, yes, you're a big time detective now. How quaint."

Angel frowned at her, and he _really _looked at her. Irena didn't have the usual deadened look some vampires had—there was almost something warm about her, and it made him furrow his brow. They weren't standing close, but he could tell something was different. The way she held herself, and the way she was easily able to hold her…business. She preferred to live above ground.

"You've noticed it. The spark. I have it too, but that won't stop me from dusting you and ripping out your girlfriend's throat."

* * *

Angel suddenly opened his eyes. He took in a long, unneeded breath as he thought about the dream he had just had.

A spark? What did his dream about Irena mean? He could still smell the thick mixture of her perfume—kind of like pomegranate and lilac. That hadn't been _just _a dream; it had been tactile, like when the harbingers of the First tried attacking him, and when he started having dreams of Darla. He could still remember staring into Irena's eyes, and feeling something there that wasn't usually with vampires.

Something made Angel think about what the word, "spark," meant, but he brushed it off. After a few more moments of lying in his bed, he decided he couldn't ignore it. He had to investigate this matter.

Cordelia latter huffed in frustration when she realized Angel's nose was deep in a book, and there would be no way she'd get him to leave his spot. He'd locked his door. She had a bone to pick with him about letting a client off Scott-free without paying for their services. She didn't care if the woman had an income of less than five thousand a year; she still wanted SOME kind of payment!

* * *

Buffy was irritated.

Tara had detected the _smallest _amount of a concussion a few days earlier, after she'd hit her head on the ground in the grave yard and puked her guts inside out behind a headstone. Xander had been firm in insisting she go to the hospital, and Dawn had even jumped in and said she wanted to make sure she wasn't going to die of a brain aneurism like Joyce.

The idea had bothered her, but Buffy stood firm in insisting she was not going to go to the hospital, even if they tried hitting her over the head again to knock her out and make her go. Her concussion was gone the next day, but Xander still made her sit out.

Now, Buffy was at work again. But she wasn't helping everyone with the construction-part of her job. She wasn't able to help the guys do anything. Xander had put her on _strict _secretarial duties.

"You're not a secretary," Xander laughed. "You're a desk receptionist!"

Buffy fixed her eyes on her best friend, and narrowed them to slits. "Same. Damn. Thing." Buffy yanked out her pony tail, snapped the rubber band onto her wrist, and in frustration started combing her hair back with her fingers. When she was satisfied it wasn't going to loosen up, she snapped the rubber band back onto her hair and tied it tightly.

"Summers, you need to sit out," one of the guys, Baker they called him, said. "Maybe we won't finish the job so fast if you sit out a few days!"

"Back off, Baker!" Xander barked. "Get to work!"

Buffy crossed her arms. "Can I hit him?"

"I'd have to fire you."

Buffy could feel a curse bubbling on the tip of her tongue again, and she opened her mouth, but Xander held up his hand.

"Mouth, Summers, mouth." He laughed. The kind of infectious Xander laugh which could never leave her in a bad mood. "I think this job has had a bad influence on you. You're also grouchier than usual."

"It's because I have to answer the phone all day."

"It can be fun! Just be your cheery, bubbly Slayer self and you'll be fine."

Being a receptionist wasn't as _bad _as Buffy tried to make it out to be. She would have rather been outside, helping the boys, but she found it relaxing to actually get sit down. For the first time in a long time, she actually had a chance to take a book with her and read. It was something Dawn had been pushing on her forever. Buffy had half-heartedly read the first two books, because the characters in them were just children. She was, however, now immersed in the third book, _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. _Hermione had just punched Draco in the face. She found herself liking the character more and more.

She liked Harry, too, though. Someone was always trying to kill the poor kid. It was definitely a similar story Buffy could relate to—no wonder Dawn, Willow, and Tara were so absorbed in the books.

She read for a while longer. She felt herself getting hungry—she'd been eating a lot more lately, and while she couldn't figure out why she was so hungry all of a sudden except maybe that she wasn't eating enough after her patrols every night—she tried not to put too much stalk into her constant need to munch on something. It wasn't exactly a new development.

A gruff man stomped into the office.

"Oh, hello Mr. Schreiner!" Buffy said cheerily. She stared at the man. He was hard to be cheery with, as the head of the construction company. She half-thought he was evil, but Xander had reassured her several times that he was human and that she was not to kill their employer.

"Summers," he forced out. "Thought you were a part of the construction crew. Where's Maisy?"

"Oh—I think she took a sick day? I hurt myself a few days ago, so Xander wanted me to do this for a while…"

"Fine. I have someone important coming in here, five minutes. Get me when he's here. Xander show you how to call my office?"

"I…—." Buffy said.

"Just knock on my door. It's that one." He pointed. It was a the only door in the back of a construction trailer "Put the book up."

Buffy looked down at her book, a little offended she was no longer allowed to read, and put it into her purse. She _rarely _wanted to read something outside of the needed research on demons.

It didn't take long, as Schreiner had told her. The important customer who came into the trailer was over dressed, dressed in a sharp black suit with his hair slicked back. He kind of looked familiar, but Buffy couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was about him.

"Hi!" She said, cheerily, again. It wasn't hard for Buffy to act happy. She might have been a corpse a few months ago, but she still was able to be happy, even with her memories.

"Yes—hello." Great. More stuffy types. "I'm here to meet with Mr…"

"I was expecting you. Give me a minute, and I'll get Mr. Schreiner," Buffy told the man.

She stood. Fast. The same kind of nausea which hit her that night in the graveyard was back, full force. Buffy staggered for a moment, the back of her hand flying to her mouth as she steadied herself against the secretary's desk.

She took two steps and vomited all over the man's shoes.

* * *

Buffy had never felt so mortified in her life. She was even more embarrassed than the time with Riley and the Haunted House her first year of college—and the nausea came back full force at that thought. Buffy just closed her eyes and breathed through it, her head resting on the round table in the Magic Box.

Immediately after she vomited over that man's shoes, Xander had been called, and a huge yelling match had ensued between him and his boss. Buffy was given the day off immediately after it happened.

Xander slammed the door to the store.

"Xander!" Anya yelled. "Be careful with that door—it's mine! And I don't want to have to give up my money to fix it! Demons destroy this building enough as it is!"

Buffy tried to make herself look smaller, all the while fighting off the urge to throw up.

"I calmed down Schreiner. You _really _pissed him off, Buffy."

"I know…" Buffy looked up and winced. "I'm so sorry."

Xander suddenly started laughing. "It was so awesome. I don't know if you're pregnant, or your head is just messing with you because of your fall, but that was epic! He was so pissed, but you still have your job."

Pregnant. Buffy sat up straighter, nausea suddenly gone. Anya giggled.

"That's not possible dear. We both know Buffy isn't—"

Buffy stood up suddenly.

"I'll see you guys later," Buffy said as an afterthought before she left the shop.

"Well, Buffy doesn't know how to take a joke," Anya said. "I'm going back to counting my money.


	7. Chapter Six

I promised you guys another chapter this week! Review, please. I see those hits. I know you're reading. :P I hope you enjoy! (By the way, I'm totally obsessed with Katy Perry right now. IDK WTF that is all about! I usually like Black Sabbath :P You might not quite be able to tell I wrote this chapter to one of her albums, LOL… and ugh! I'm using netspeak! This is what you get after I've just finished a chapter after working 8 hours straight).

* * *

Chapter Six

"Buffy," Spike said. "To what do I owe your pleasure, Goldilocks?"

Buffy held up her hand, as if to strike Spike, but she pulled her hand back and made a small fist near her ear. "I have a few questions. Um, questions that I don't really think my friends can answer."

Spike leaned against the coffin in his mausoleum, cigarette hanging from his mouth. "You're not threatening to beat me or give me money."

"Do _not _test me."

"Heard you got all sick at work today."

Buffy crossed her arms. "How?"

"I lurk during the day in the Magic Box."

"You were there. I knocked my head really hard against the ground. So hard I felt like I couldn't see straight for a whole day." Buffy wasn't sure why she had come to see Spike. She wanted to call Angel, she felt like she needed to call Angel.

"See, I find that hard to believe, Buffy. You're a Slayer. Your lot heals fast-except the ones I killed, of course."

"I do _not _need to be reminded of your glory days."

"So what brings you here then, luv? I know it's not here to help me drink my whiskey," Spike said. As he spoke, he balanced his cigarette between the index and middle finger of his right hand as he pulled the whiskey bottle from the ground next to the coffin, opened it up, and took a long drink.

"How much of the conversation did you hear?"

"I didn't hear much. Left after you put her head down. Was getting a bit too sunny out."

Buffy frowned at Spike, but then she sighed. "Xander made a joke about me being pregnant because I've been throwing up." She walked next to Spike, and even though the smell of the cigarette bothered her heavily, she felt like she had to lean against something.

Spike had been in the middle of drinking his whiskey, and abruptly choked on it. Well, he didn't so much choke, as sputtered, since he didn't need air to breath. He tried speaking, but it came out in a gurgled, wet noise until he finally managed to catch some breath and force the alcohol from his lungs. Buffy winced. That looked like it _stung._

"Bloody hell, Slayer, are you trying to kill me?" He coughed a little. "Is there a reason you might be pregnant? Didn't fancy a shag with that boy from your Freshman year—what was his name, Parker?—did you? Angel'll be pissed if he finds out about that one."

"Oh, god, no." Buffy twisted her face into a look of disgust. Then she shivered thinking about that jerk. "Angel told me once it's not possible for a vampire to get a human pregnant."

Spike slowly drew on his cigarette. "To my knowledge, it's not."

"But as a vampire ever actually _let _a human live long enough to see if she would get pregnant? I know female vampires can't… it would be impossible for one to carry a pregnancy. But for a woman?"

Spike seemed like he was thinking about it. "Well, typically we just eat and move on."

Buffy tried not to let that comment bother her. Spike didn't have a soul. She couldn't treat him like Angel, and she couldn't treat him like he was a normal blood thirsty monster.

"Yeah, I thought so." Buffy sighed.

Spike paused for a moment, and looked at Buffy. The way he was looking at her, really looking at her, made her uncomfortable, and shift away from him. Suddenly, he started took in a large sniff.

"You still have Peaches all over your scent."

"Ew. What is it with vampires and smelling people?" Buffy turned, and walked away from Spike, toward the entrance of his mausoleum.

"You shagged him, didn't you?"

Buffy froze in her tracts. She nervously placed a lock of hair behind her ears. "You know we can't." She shrugged. "I think I'm just sick because I hit my head too hard."

She tried to walk away, but before she could, Spike was in front of her slamming the door and swearing loudly because he burned his fingers on the little bit of sunlight which touched them.

"Spike, let me go."

"No. There's something going on, pet. You smell like Angel, and as much as that hurts me, 'cause I've got all these feelings for you, I'm not going to let you leave without telling me what's going on. I've watched you and Red these past few days, and your Watcher, and I know there is something going on. But there is something more, now, and there is a reason you haven't gone to them. What's going on? You're getting sick—" Buffy had her head down, and Spike looked down at her, right into her eyes. "There is something else."

Buffy crossed her arms and stood straighter. "Move, before I make you move."

"You're going to hit me? You've hit me before; it's not going to curb my curiosity. Why did you come to me this time, instead of one of your little Scooby gang."

"I've been going through a lot. I can go to Willow for some things…but I'm not sure if I trust her with everything anymore. Angel is in LA. I miss him, but we have a lot of stuff going on right now…"

"Buffy, you can talk to me. I can be your friend, you know."

Buffy almost snorted at Spike, but she caught herself.

"You're in the darkness, and you're drawn to it—that's why you can come to me and Angel so easily. Why don't you stop making me guess, pet? What's up?"

Buffy sighed. She thought about it for a second. She didn't know if she could talk to Giles about this without him going into a big stuffy Watcher coma, and she had a few trust issues with Willow, Anya, Tara, and Xander after they brought her back to life. She couldn't talk to Dawn about these sorts of things. She was still just a kid.

"I've already told Angel about this…but I was in Heaven."

"Heaven, huh?" Spike took a long drag of his cigarette.

"And the gypsy girl—the one Darla and Angelus attacked, and who Angel was cursed for? She's a vampire herself, and I'm pretty sure she wants Angel _very _dead."

Spike took another drag of his cigarette. "I knew that would come back to bite him one day."

Buffy ignored the joke. "And yeah, we've been having sex. Somehow. Without his curse breaking. It's confusing, and now I'm getting sick, and I just don't know what to do about it."

He was surprisingly saying very little. He stayed quiet for a long time, before he finally threw the cigarette to the ground and stamped it out.

"There's never been a record of a human getting pregnant after shagging a vampire, but they usually don't have fuzzy feelings when a normal vampire attacks. Take a pregnancy test, Buffy. Have you told anyone else about going to Heaven, besides Peaches?"

"No, I haven't. I'm not comfortable letting them know about it." Buffy was trying to look anywhere but at Spike.

"I guess this means you aren't going to tell them anything if you're pregnant."

"Can I just go? I'm not comfortable with this conversation anymore."

Spike stepped aside. The sun had just finished setting as he watched the Slayer leave. She was hugging herself, in a very defensive stance, with her arms over her stomach. Spike lit up another cigarette.

He had to call Angel.

* * *

Irena had a suitcase on her bed. It was over packed, mostly with clothing and shoes and hair accessories. It also had a few other things, such as magical items she needed for her practice and a wooden spike she meant for Angel's heart, if she came across him. She was very careful with that. She had it wrapped in several shirts.

Her leather boots clacked against the wooden floor as she walked back and forth, throwing other things she needed in the suit case. She wrung her hands as she did this, and took her hair down and then put it back up several more times. She shouldn't be nervous. Her mission—the one she had given herself—was very clear. Cause hell in Sunnydale, and draw Angel out of his comfort zone. Threaten the Slayer. Oh, that would be fun. If the girl was a fool enough to fall in love with a killer, than Irena wasn't sure she could have any sympathy for her. She'd never killed a Slayer, either, and that idea in and of itself was appealing. The demon in her always lusted for more blood, but she heard Slayer's blood was simply divine.

Closing the suit case was a pain in the ass, but Irena was final sure she had everything she needed to go to Sunnydale. She just reminded herself of what she had to do, so she could keep herself sane, as she threw her luggage into the back of her mustang. She tapped the little vial of ashes attached to her mirror in the car.

A small reminder of Darla.


	8. Chapter Seven

Buffy breaks down a little in this chapter. She was well deserving of that in season six, and I don't feel like she ever got that.

Sorry I disappeared a while. I had some overtime work going on during the day and had a major fight with my radio and computer speakers because my music wouldn't go loud enough…then discovered the beauty of music channels on my cable TV. I'm officially divorced now. Hugs are welcome. LOL. I wanted to let everyone know I'm going to try to make a couple updates this month to this story—I always promise to update the others, but then never do. I'm going to focus on this one. But, in November, I do National Novel Writing Month—there won't be ANY updates. I'll more than make up for it after that, promise! I think I might post the new novel on fictionpress, however.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Buffy stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, her hair wet from a shower. She wasn't sure why she was going to do this. She was being paranoid. Her talk with Spike hadn't helped matters anymore either than she had wanted them to. She didn't know why she went to Spike for advice-maybe because she wanted some kind of confirmation that she was crazy in thinking her vampire honey could get her pregnant. Her conversation with him just made her even more confused though.

She took in a deep breath and looked at the test sitting on her bathroom counter. She had already taken it; she was just waiting for the results.

A loud knock on the bathroom door made her jump so quick she knocked the test into the sink.

"Who is it?"

"Are you going to keep taking forever? I seriously need to get a shower before school!"

"Um, give me a minute, Dawnie. I just got out of the shower myself." Buffy quickly wrapped a towel around her chest tighter and picked up her pajamas. She picked the test out of the bathroom sink and put in under her pajamas. Dawn knocked again, louder this time, and definitely impatient. "You could be a little nicer in the mornings, you know." Buffy said after she opened the door.

Dawn had her clothing for school that day in her arms. "Well, you took a shower that was too long, you know. The hot water has been running out too fast."

"I know. I'm going to check it later. Please don't be a pain today. I don't have the energy to argue with you." Buffy walked away from Dawn.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she walked into the bathroom, but then she stopped for a moment.

When did Buffy ever run out of energy?

"Soooo we have three new clients, one is convinced his wife is going to cast a curse on him because he cheated on her, but whatever, he was SUPER narcissistic and TOTALLY deserves whatever she does to him, one woman wanted you to follow the father of her kids to see if you would scare him into paying child support, and I think the third one is a real case where a girl thinks that her brother might have been turned into a vampire. I told her we would try to get on it as soon as possible."

Sometimes, Angel really wondered how Cordelia was able to talk without taking a single breath. But that was why he loved her as an employee. She really had a knack for helping him—not counting the fact that she was his link to the Powers that Be.

"Thanks, do you have the number for the woman who needed help with her brother?"

"Um… let me find it… so are you done being in super research mode over this Irena girl?"

Angel sighed. "No, I'm not, but I need a break. There isn't much I think I can find about her. It looks like she has secluded herself from others." Irena's habits as a vampire were lot like himself, after he got his soul, but he wasn't going to say anything to Cordelia. "I think she was just goading us that day… I don't think she'll do anything dangerous. She doesn't even know where Buffy lives."

"Okay," Cordelia said. "Spike called, by the way."

Angel failed miserably in attempting shake the involuntary growl which rumbled in the back of his throat away. Cordelia took a step back.

"What did Captain Peroxide want?"

"I don't know. He sounded drunk, it was really loud, and when I asked him what he was doing, he said he was playing kitten poker. Weird! But… he said something about the Slayer being near having a melt down and needing to talk to you. When did Buffy stop staking evil vampires?"

Angel stayed absolutely still for a moment.

"Angel, you're growling."

Angel shook himself, snapping himself out of it. "We need to go to Sunnydale."

"It's bright daylight!"

Angel went to his office, grabbed his keys and a thick blanket, and came back to the lobby.

"You're driving."

"Again, it's _broad_ daylight!"

"Don't ask me why. I just have a feeling I need to be there. I'll be fine under this blanket."

Buffy's day was going horribly. She got fired from the construction job. Apparently, Xander's boss was very upset because they ended up losing the client anyway after her mishap with vomiting on his shoes—Xander said he was a shady bastard who was looking for a way to screw the company anyway and that it was all business politics, but he was still pissed, as was Buffy, that she lost her job over something so stupid. Xander promised to help her find a new job. Dawn, apparently, had been skipping a lot of school, and Buffy was informed a social worker would be coming over to "check on Dawn's living situation" to "see how she was coping after their loss." And that morning—god, Buffy didn't want to think about what happened early in the morning, especially as she haphazardly moved tools around in her mother's tool box to find a wrench. The reason the water had been running out of hot water so fast was there was a rapid leak in a pipe downstairs and the water heater looked like a damn dinosaur. Thankfully, Xander had a guy who said if they tightened the pipes, everything should be okay.

Buffy also got a call from her father.

He basically told her she and Dawn were on their own. He was marrying his secretary and moving to Spain for good. Some kind of once in a life time business opportunity, and even though he couldn't bother himself to admit it, Buffy was sure he didn't want the baggage of two daughters who just lost their mother to hold him back from his fancy new life.

Buffy stared at the pipes. No, she glared at the leaky spot. She reached up, tightened the wrench, and twisted it as slowly as she could until it felt tight. When she was satisfied it was no longer leaking, she loosened the wrench and slowly took a step back to observe her handiwork. No more leak. At least something was going her way that day.

Until the pipes groaned and the pipe she just tightened up sprang loose from its joint, spraying her in the face with water.

Buffy dropped the wrench to the floor. The basement already had a nice puddle forming around her feet when she started sniffling. Before she knew it, Buffy was full out crying about the horrible day she had. It wasn't like anyone would be able to hear her—unless could hear the gushing water. It wasn't just the one pipe which busted, either, at water started gushing from other areas of the basement as well.

Angel found her ten minutes later, sitting in a large puddle of water on the basement floor. He quickly ran up a few steps, took off his jacket and threw it on them, then ran back down and found the main water valve, turning it off.

"Buffy, what's wrong?"

"Everything." Buffy just sighed loudly.

"Okay, let me start with something simpler. Why are you sitting in a flooded basement?"

"Fixed the pipes. Guess I tightened the leaky spot too tight." Buffy sighed and splashed in the water as she finally stood up. "Why are you here?"

Angel gave her a look.

"Okay, I'm glad you're here—I always love seeing you. But you don't exactly come to visit unless there's something evil lurking around the corner."

"You're obviously in a bad mood—come on, let's get out of here. You need to change into something dry…"

"Hey! No water!" Tara yelled from the top of the basement. She came downstairs. Her mouth dropped open.

"I tried fixing a leak," Buffy said with a shrug.

* * *

I wanted to make the chapter longer, but I probably should get to bed. I might update it this weekend. I have enough ideas going that I can probably get another one out. I've been writing a lot more with my livescribe pen—something I recommend for everyone!—but I need some ink. I like to write while I work. :)


	9. Chapter Eight

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been busy with work and everything, and then I was writing a new novel for NaNoWriMo. It ended up being an awesome story I want to publish, but I need to finish it first. I have a few chapters up on fictionpress if you want the addy. Just PM me.**

**I'm moving things around a little from the original progression of season six to fit the needs of the story. It did move up six weeks in a previous chapter, so Warner, Andrew, and Jonathan have already been found out by Willow. It'll make sense why I did that when you are finished reading the chapter. **

**I've also been a little obsessed with Vampire Diaries for the past month or so. I'm currently fighting the urge to write a Delena fic (omfg, Ian Somerhalder is hot. I love Damon as much as I love Angel), so thank the show to this update so I could curb my need to write fanfiction. **

Chapter Eight

Buffy walked into her room as she toweled it dry. She was much drier than she had been twenty minutes ago, and felt much better in a pair of loose fitting pants and a tee-shirt. Angel sat on her bed, staring at Mr. Gordo.

She smiled at him. "I'm having an overwhelming sense of déjà vu right now."

Angel jumped as if the pig burned him, setting it down fast. "Yeah? You did catch me looking at the pig once, didn't you?"

"I did," Buffy said. She tossed the towel onto her bed. "Spike called you, huh?"

"He said there was something going on with you, and he wasn't sure what it is. Never mind the fact that it was incredibly strange to get a call from Spike nor the fact that he acted like he was actually worried about you."

Buffy sighed. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer. "The last few days have been incredibly weird for me," she said as she pulled something from the drawer. "Real life is overwhelming and I'm _so _upset I couldn't take a warm shower to freshen up."

"You'll manage. You always have before," Angel said.

Buffy turned to him. "That's the thing. I've been able to manage being the Slayer and high school and college, I've saved the world but I don't know if I'll manage taking care of my sister and being an adult without Mom here." She sighed. She said it. Buffy knew this wasn't the only time Angel had heard this variation of how she really felt since coming back from the dead, but it still felt good to get it out. "And then… there's this."

She held out a brown paper bag to Angel.

He still sat on the bed, his expression one of confusion. "What is this?"

"Just look before I lose my nerve and take it back from you."

Angel opened the bag and took the white stick out. "A positive pregnancy test? Is this yours?"

Angel suddenly looked hurt. "Angel, don't get upset. I-I don't know how it happened, but I haven't been with anyone but you since Willow did the spell and I came back to life." She sat on the bed and took the pregnancy test from his hands. She folded her right leg up on the bed and pulled Angel closer to her. "It is mine. I'm pregnant."

"It's impossible, I can't be the father. Maybe Riley—"

Buffy shook her head furiously. "I haven't been pregnant long that long. I think I would have known if Riley got me pregnant. I realized yesterday that I was late, and thought maybe something weird might have happened when Willow did the spell… but then I got morning sickness and threw up all over an important business person when I played secretary for a day for Xander and his boss."

"You haven't come in contact with any strange demons, have you?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I haven't. I've mostly fought vampires. The demon population has been incredibly tame so far…which makes me worry there is another apocalypse coming but—"

Angel put two fingers over Buffy's lips. "Shh… Buffy, do you think it's possible?"

Buffy took his hand. "I mean, it could… you're the only man I've been with, before and after I died. For some reason, you didn't lose your soul when we made love and now I'm pregnant."

Angel took a deep breath. He looked at the pregnancy test again and then placed his hand over her stomach. "Is this what Spike was talking about?"

"He doesn't know if that's what you're thinking. I haven't told anyone else yet. My day has just been so awful…"

Angel pulled her to him, kissing her gently. "I'm glad you told me first." He smiled at her. "I never thought I'd be a father."

"We don't know if that's what is going on yet," Buffy said, "but I'm certain we're both going to be parents."

Angel sighed. "You need to be _a lot _more careful now."

Buffy took in a deep breath, and let it out. "I know. There really have never been any cases of a vampire getting a human pregnant?"

Angel shook his head. "No, there hasn't."

Buffy pushed some of her hair out of her face. "There also hasn't ever been a vampire with a soul, either… I'm worried about this, Angel. I mean, Irena threatened you."

"She hasn't tried anything else yet. I don't want to say it was an empty threat because I'd never trust a gypsy, dead or alive, but she also has no idea where you live."

Buffy nodded. "Okay. Good… well, I lied, there has been one thing that has been happening lately."

Angel looked at Buffy, puzzled.

"I have three geeks trying to ruin my life."

"What?" Angel asked. "How do you mean?"

"I still want to strangle them, but a few weeks ago. I turned invisible."

"How is that possible? You haven't been _that—_"

Buffy shook her head, and laughed. "No, no I haven't. Do you remember Jonathan?"

Angel nodded. "I do. Vaguely."

"Okay, well, he and two other guys, Andrew and Warner, have decided to make my life miserable by summoning demons and turning me invisible, and a whole bunch of other things which have really made me consider my no-killing humans policy in the past few weeks." Buffy sighed. "That's all that has been going on. They've not tried anything lately since we caught them with the invis-a-ray thing they made, but I don't think they are smart enough to truly back down."

Angel sighed, and pulled Buffy closer. "Why didn't you tell me this was happening?"

"I didn't want to worry you. There wasn't a reason to make you get worried. Oh—and my dad has told me he's bailing on us. He's going to live out the rest of his mid-life crisis married to his secretary in Spain."

"You're pregnant, Buffy. You need to try to reduce your stress."

Buffy pulled away from Angel.

"What am I going to tell anyone? How am I going to explain this without them freaking out on me?" Buffy sighed. "I can barely think of how I'm going to pay to get the pipes in the house fixed…"

Angel pulled her closer to him, so close she was almost in his lap. "You don't need to worry right now. I can help you take care of the house… If this baby really is mine, I'll be so incredibly—"

"You can't get _too _happy," Buffy said, frowning. "We've already pushed everything so far being together like we have."

"I've had Wesley looking into it. He wants to contact the Romani, but I told him there wasn't a chance in hell that would be a good idea. If they found out my curse wasn't working right, who knows what would happen."

* * *

Irena stood stiffly in front of the black van and listened to the conversation in the basement.

"So, man, what is our plan now that the Slayer knows we're evil dark lords?"

She rolled her eyes. Could these little boys be any more pathetic? She had been listening in on their conversation for the past twenty minutes. A majority of the conversation had been a fight over which Nintendo game was more bad ass—_Final Fantasy_ or _The Legend of Zelda_. Irena didn't understand half of what they were talking about and she had been about to give up when she heard them mention the Slayer.

She was only there for one reason, and that was because she heard of the little stunt these three men had pulled in an attempt to kill the Slayer. Angel's little human would become her play thing, and it did not sit well with Irena to think that there was a threat to her in any way.

Irena had refrained from letting anyone know she was in town yet, but she couldn't let a potential threat lurk within Sunnydale's limits. She also wasn't very patient. She no longer wished to remain hidden.

"I don't know man," said one of the boys. He had a nasaly voice. Irena bent down to look into the basement from a window and almost rolled her eyes. All three of them were sitting on a couch. The one with a nasaly voice was thin, and had blond hair. "I don't know if we should mess with the Slayer again after she ruined our death ray."

"We'll find a way to destroy her," another one of them said. This one had broader shoulders than the other two. Irena scrutinized him from the window.

"Dude, we don't want to destroy her," a smaller male said. "We just want to make her our sex kitten."

All there boys paused for a second. "Yeah, I'm up for that," said the nasaly sounding one.

"Somehow, I don't think that should be a part of the plan anymore, guys." Irena dubbed this one the leader, and the greater threat. "Okay, well you've both got to leave, as much as I'd love to stay and mastermind a great plot to take over the world. Mom has been nagging me to clean the house," he said.

Irena rolled her eyes and paced outside while the boys argued a few more minutes. She eventually bothered to learn their names, and she made herself scarce as Andrew and Jonathan left.

When she was sure they were gone, she walked to the basement door and knocked frantically.

"Andrew, I _swear_, when I have to clean my house I can't let you come in here and take—Oh," Warren said. He stopped in his tracks as he looked at Irena.

She knew she was rocking her black corset and knee high boots with skinny jeans. Irena had chosen to curl her hair that day was well. "Um, hi. I kind of had a car break down and I was wondering if I could use your phone."

Warren stammered, no words able to escape his mouth. If she could have, Irena would have reached through the threshold to throttle him then. She instead focused on acting helpless and stranded.

"Uh, yeah, sure, come in, you can use my phone."

* * *

Dawn started awake when she heard a large knock downstairs, her eyes opening wide. She looked at her alarm clock. Three AM, seriously? Who would—oh.

Yeah, well, her sister was a Slayer. It could be anyone. It was useless to try to go to bed so early on a school night.

She stood up and went downstairs as the knocking became louder.

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Dawn wondered why the entire house wasn't awake right now. Surely Angel and Buffy weren't still out hunting—Buffy told her they were going to patrol a few grave yards. It was weird having Angel back, but Dawn didn't mind that he was there. Angel always made Buffy happier, and Dawn actually kind of wished he could stay around longer if it meant Buffy would be less hard on her.

As soon as Dawn opened the front door, a gust of wind kicked up and flew into the house, making some of her hair fly back. Dawn looked around.

"Is anyone out there?"

No sound.

"Hello?" Dawn started to get nervous. If someone were able to leave that fast, they were probably… "This is the Slayer's house, y'know!"

She took a step forward outside the house anyway, and almost tripped. She caught herself by the door frame and looked down.

When she saw what was in front of her, she screamed.

**Okay, I feel like this chapter actually kind of sucked, but give me a break. I'm coming back from NaNo writing and it's almost 3 in the morning. My head isn't clear right now. I hope you enjoyed! I also was too lazy to give it a real edit—I just always feel so bad for letting you all go so long without an update. **


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